Ethiopian Lentil Stew

Some of you may know (and some of you may not) that we have a child who is adopted from Ethiopia.  When we went to Ethiopia to get him we fell in love with the food there and I knew I'd have to try to find some recipes I could make here at home.  After we came home we discovered an Ethiopian chef (who also happens to be adopted and was raised in Sweden) named Marcus Samuelsson.  He quickly became one of my favorite chefs!  This recipe for lentils is from his cookbook "The Soul Of A New Cuisine."  I like this take on lentils because they are not thick and mushy like the lentils you usually see in Ethiopian restaurants plus they have a TON of fresh lemon juice which I LOVE!  There is an Ethiopian chili powder called berbere (pronounced burr-burr-ee) that you will need if you want to make this "authentic."  I picked up a ton of it while we were there but it can also be found at Penzey's spices if you are interested and have a store in your area.  Alternatively, you can use chili powder!  I hope you enjoy this first installment of six Ethiopian recipes adapted to Shel's way of cooking!

Ethiopian Lentil Stew (adapted from "The Soul Of A New Cuisine" by Marcus Samuelsson)

1 c. lentils
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1/2 c. frozen edamame (traditionally fava beans are used but I have also used lima beans here)
Juice of 2 lemons
2 t. berbere (or chili powder)
1 T. fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 t. salt

Combine the lentils with 3 c. water in a large saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.  Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, edamame, lemon juice, berbere, parsley and salt and heat through.  

4 servings (197 calories each serving) according to my calculator on loseit.com